Main Turkish coup plotter called on US-linked phone

By Baris Kilic

ANKARA

A key suspect in July’s defeated coup was contacted days after the attempt by someone using a mobile telephone registered to the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, according to a judicial official.

Adil Oksuz, who remains on the run, was contacted at 10.22 a.m. local time (0722GMT) on July 21 by the U.S.-registered number, according to an official at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Oksuz is said to be a key figure in the July 15 coup attempt and a leading member of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

A former assistant professor at Sakarya University in northwest Turkey, he is said to be FETO’s “imam” to members within the Turkish Air Force. Oksuz was arrested at Akinci air base -- the headquarters of the plotters -- the day after the coup but was later released.

The failed coup left 249 people martyred and around 2,200 injured.

Ankara has accused FETO, which is led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, of orchestrating the coup bid through supporters in the military, police and wider state apparatus.

Gulen has lived in Pennsylvania since 1999 and has been the subject of repeated extradition requests by Turkey.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to arrive in Ankara for talks with senior Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.